Las guerras picrocholinas
Antonio Tauriello
Choreographer · Performer
Recipient of the Argentine Association of Music Critics Award – Best Premiered Work (2013)
World Premiere
Overview
Las guerras picrocholinas is an opera in nine tableaux by Argentine composer Antonio Tauriello, based on an episode from François Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel. Originally composed in 1974 but never performed during the composer’s lifetime, the work received its world premiere as part of the 3rd Ibero-American Contemporary Opera Cycle, produced by the Secretariat of Culture of Argentina.
Blurring the boundaries between opera, spoken theatre and musical performance, the work replaces traditional operatic conventions with spoken dialogue, choral interventions, electroacoustic soundscapes and an experimental relationship between music and stage action.
Secretariat of Culture of Argentina
3rd Ibero-American Contemporary Opera Cycle
Centro Nacional de la Música · Buenos Aires · 2013
Documentation
Context and Artistic Process
Conceived as the first staging of an unpublished score by Antonio Tauriello, Las guerras picrocholinas presented the challenge of creating a contemporary theatrical language for a work situated between opera, experimental music and physical theatre.
Rather than illustrating the narrative, the staging approached Rabelais’ grotesque universe through movement, rhythm and collective physical action. The audience surrounded the performers inside the circular Guastavino Hall, while the orchestra and chorus occupied the outer perimeter, dissolving the traditional separation between musicians, actors and spectators.
As Choreographer, I developed the physical language for a company of twelve dancers and collaborated closely with the stage direction to integrate movement into the dramaturgical structure. The choreography emphasized grotesque physicality, collective dynamics and spatial composition, reinforcing the work’s playful yet unsettling atmosphere while maintaining a dialogue with Tauriello’s highly refined musical writing.
Press
“Diego Ernesto Rodríguez’s staging intelligently exploits the grotesque… while making effective use of the performance space surrounding the audience.”
— La Nación, Pablo Gianera
Credits
Las guerras picrocholinas
Opera in nine tableaux by Antonio Tauriello
Based on Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
Musical Direction: Santiago Santero · Natalia Salinas
Ensemble: Contemporary Music Ensemble DAMus (IUNA)
Stage Direction: Diego Ernesto Rodríguez
Choreography: German Ivancic
Production: Secretariat of Culture of Argentina
Presented at: 3rd Ibero-American Contemporary Opera Cycle
Venue: Centro Nacional de la Música – Sala Carlos Guastavino, Buenos Aires
Cast
Alba Castillo
Soledad Cardigni
Natalia Albero
Lucas Barca
César Riveros
Osvaldo Malizia
Guillermo Asencio
Gabriel Galindez
Gerónimo Seib
Dance Ensemble
Candela Rodríguez
Federico Uriarte
Florencia Segura
Cristian Manuel Roldán
Félix Rapela
Juan Pedro Echagüe
Glenda Ghetti
María Sol Pérez Gallardo
Carolina Charol Stefano
Gisela Gebhardt
Matías Wowk
German Ivancic
Musicians
Camilo Flórez: Viola
Gustavo Giménez: Flauta
Jorge Montoya: Corno
Luciano Vitale: Contrabajo
Martín Vijnovich: Percusión
Matías Targhetta: Órgano
Melina Belén Alvarez: Arpa
Mariana Eva Ferrer: Asistente de dirección
Production Credits
Scenography — Gabriela Piepoch
Character Design / Make-up — Adriana Belli
Costume Design — Alejandra Soto · Titi Otero · Marina Romeo · Belén Calabró
Lighting Design — Belén Chardon · Rodrigo González Alvarado
Theatre Coordinator — Carlos Palacios
Artistic-Technical Coordinator (Theatre) — Ximena Belgrano Rawson
Artistic-Technical Coordinator (Music) — Felisa Pagani
General & Artistic Coordination — Juan Ortiz de Zárate